


Won't Be Long Before Another Day

by Katherine



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Comfort, Diverges from canon, Episode 7: The Dagger and the Wolf, Gen, Stab Wound
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-02-27 21:16:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18747277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katherine/pseuds/Katherine
Summary: Callum whispered with Rayla, not wanting to speak loudly in case Ezran heard them and got scared. Ezran was hurt, he shouldn't have to hear any of Callum's worrying about what precisely to be doing.





	Won't Be Long Before Another Day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [planetundersiege](https://archiveofourown.org/users/planetundersiege/gifts).



Callum whispered with Rayla, not wanting to speak loudly in case Ezran heard them and got scared. Ezran was hurt, he shouldn't have to hear any of Callum's worrying about what precisely to be doing.

"Like bogey berries but for a wound?" Rayla repeated, matching Callum's quiet volume. She shook her head. "Not that I've been told of. You'd best bandage it well."

She was still visibly upset, and had been pacing before setting herself outside of the cavern to guard. No one would have been hurt, she said, if they hadn't been "keeping company with an elf."

"Keeping company" sounded like what some people at court would say when they knew a child was listening and didn't want to be more crude. Rayla was becoming a friend, trusted more than maybe Callum should have expected to, but that didn't make them sweethearts all of a sudden. They were only travelling together, but that in itself had been enough to set the mob after them. Her and Callum and Ezran, running together. Ezran the slowest, what with both the backpack containing the dragon egg and having Bait in his arms... Ezran falling behind only a little ways, but within reach of one of the mob who had a blade.

With Rayla's skill, they all escaped. Tucked into what Rayla declared a defensible cave, out of caution for they didn't expect to be followed this far up the mountain. Safe as they could be for now, with time for Callum to see to his brother.

Ironically it was Ezran himself who had been the one with the foresight to acquire the supplies to deal with injuries. Everything was from the animal doctor that they had visited together with the dragon egg. But the cleaning cloths, salve, and bandages were all suitable for use on a human too. They'd just have to stock up further, against a future day when they might have a baby dragon to look after. A worry for later in their quest. It would be easier if they reached their destination in time to hand over the dragon in-shell instead of hatched... And they had less time now than before, adding in what would be needed for Ezran to begin healing. But Callum was not going to short his brother a moment of care that he could give. 

Callum had tucked the dragon egg near Ezran, hoping he might be comforted by its familiar mottled glow. Remembering what the animal doctor had said, that the baby inside was weakened but not too badly hurt from the cold. Maybe Ezran would at least be distracted by the egg he had carried so carefully. Callum was sure being stabbed hurt, and he was pretty sure he wasn't deft enough that he could make caring for Ezran's wound painless either.

*

When Callum returned to the deepest part of the cave where Ezran was, Bait licked Ezran's face before hopping out. Ezran didn't exactly smile, but his mouth moved more than it needed to for words. Almost a smile was a good sign, right?

"Anyone comes, Bait's gonna flash at them," Ezran said, as if he could be certain of his pet glow toad making plans. That was the sort of silliness Callum would tease him about, usually, but not in these circumstances. Instead he just nodded, and sat down next to Ezran to check the injury. Ezran was lying on his side, the hurt side uppermost of course.

Callum squeezed Ezran's hand. "Stay still and I'll be done fast," he said. He did his best to be gentle but thorough, wiping carefully away from the wound outwards to the unbroken skin. The wound was not all that deep, but still further inwards than it was across. A stab, not a slash. Callum half-automatically tried to fit it to the sword skills he himself had been learning, what jab or motion would led to the hit. Futile, of course; it had been the wild stab, quite literally, of a semi-trained person who was frightened.

By this point Callum had the roll of bandage ready in his hand. Now he had to wind it around and around like a nest on top of the wound... No, that was when there was something broken off in the wound, so as to not move whatever it was and thus keep the blood stayed in. No piece of sword left in this. He shifted his thoughts to how to treat a blade wound that was a slash, or deeper in and out, like this one. Tried to focus on the how of it, not who was hurt. 

His hand clenched on the yielding bandage as he tried to focus on what to do. Maybe he should have had Rayla do this part. But Ezran was his own brother to look after, not to mention that elf care was bound to be different from human. Besides, Rayla was much better at guarding than Callum could possibly be. Bait probably wasn't, but even he had put himself out in the cold too.

"I can bandage better than Bait," Callum said, out loud to maybe amuse Ezran. For sure he could wash better also. He could shudder to think how clean a glow toad's tongue wasn't, no matter how much comfort Ezran might find in being licked on his face.

*

"You'll be fine," Callum said, infusing certainty into his voice. Besides, if how he had done the bandaging or something else was really wrong, Rayla would probably notice and fix whatever it was. "Relax if you can, maybe sleep..." He trailed off, because Ezran's eyes were wet with the start of tears.

They had cried together before, for little sadnesses and huge. As well as he could without jostling Ezran's side, Callum wrapped his arms around Ezran's shoulders. A hug always helped, as much as anything could.

Whispering reassurances through the pattern of Ezran's sobbing, Callum found his own voice breaking as he started crying too. Sympathy, and the shock of Ezran getting hurt, and maybe a lot about this weird, stressful journey and having to be so far from home. Further and further every day.

Callum wiped his own eyes roughly on his sleeve, but got a piece of soft cloth from the pack for Ezran. While dabbing at Ezran's tear-wet face, he offered, "You'll feel better in the morning. I'm staying right here with you, and Rayla's guarding."

"'nd Bait is." Now that he had cried himself out, Ezran sounded sleepy, and a little muzzy. "Going magic it?" he asked, when Callum leaned carefully closer in towards the bandaged wound. Callum imagined how useless the breath spell he knew would be in this case, and found himself starting to smile. That was incongruous, when his cheeks were still damp from crying along with Ezran, but was a relief, too.

"No, Ez. I'm going to kiss it better, like mom used to."

"Best magic," Ezran whispered then, and at that Callum did smile.


End file.
